THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2012
PAGE 5
opinion
Sprained ankles, huh? That's why you don't wear high heals and try to walk up the hills!
Obviously you didn't watch McLemore play if you think he's gonna be a Selby 2.0! His first game and he's already on ESPN top 10!
New game. Whenever you see a cop on campus, take off sprinting suspiciously!
So I was in the bathroom in Budig and the lights went out on me and I couldn't get them to turn back on.
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
Can we make spitting chew in class illegal? I think I would prefer cigarette smoke blowing in my face.
How can people expect me to have a paper done by Friday when "Halo 4" is out?!!
"Accidentally" forgetting your wallet may get you a free meal, but it makes you a terrible friend.
I am currently consulting the basketball schedule while scheduling classes for next semester to avoid conflict. Priorities are important.
That atheist couple is so cute! Like a match made in... Oh wait.
POLITICS
Editor's Note: It's a real epidemic.
I nap enough DURING class to where
I can't manage to nap AFTER class.
Anyone else struggling with this or is
it just me?
Editor's Note: It's a real epidemic
I wore a Packers shirt to an exam. I already feel like a winner.
I'm seriously considering framing the Phog Wars poster.
Mom jeans Monday. No shame.
How forgetting your wallet can go:
"Oh don't worry, I'll pay for you!"
How it actually goes: "You forgot your
wallet? Sucks to be you, bro."
I don't get how you can tweet over 10,000 times. Do people really have that much to say or are their lives just that boring?
To the religious nuts on campus,
handing out Bibles is one thing,
disturbing the peace is another.
Obama could be remembered as successful
Whoever wins the presidential election tomorrow is likely to be credited with what will almost inevitably be an economic recovery and a more productive, prosperous tenure than the last four years.
If Gov. Mitt Romney is elected, then this recovery will in all odds continue. But much as President BarackObama, in a hypothetically fair world, should bear little of the guilt for the deep economic doldrums that welcomed him into the Oval Office, Romney would receive far more credit than he would be due if shortly into his term the pace of the economy accelerated.
Obama has laid the groundwork for a recovery that, if agonizingly slow, has at least been deliberate and consistent. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the next four years and to be careful about critiquing the last four, including evidence that the economy is actually on the right track.
One indicator signaling that America is indeed heading "forward" and is well on the road to recovery is, as of last Friday,
If you need a basketball schedule, you're doing it wrong. You should just feel it in your soul when you wake up.
that we have now added more jobs than we have lost for 32 months straight (the unemployment rate did rise from 7.8 percent to 7.9 percent, data according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but that was a result of more people entering the labor force. A higher number of jobs added than lost can still show a rate higher than the previous month's if more people become unemployed who were previously not in the labor force as was seen in the month of October). That does not happen by accident or because we are in a recession, it is clear, consistent evidence that the economy is steadily growing. This defiant growth is not the only positive economic news; these job numbers have come amid numerous reports of growth in the auto industry, manufacturing, and evidence that housing is back.
Obama's first term was like a movie that set the stage for a really cool sequel, but it was not anybody's favorite to watch and it did not get great reviews (underdated in a "Batman Begins" kind of way). Much of what will define his administration, if he wins this
I smiled at Jeff Withey as he walked past me today. Then I realized I was too short for him to be able to see me.
election, hinges on his second term.
One issue that could become paramount in the next four years is the debt crisis. Obama is often criticized for the way the total debt ballooned under his watch, but looking at the debt from a total sum standpoint as a way of analyzing a president's impact can be misleading. A president's influence on the debt comes from the annual federal budget.
When Obama took office the federal budget for the fiscal year 2009, the last year George W. Bush's administration was responsible for the budget, was at a $1.4 trillion deficit. According to government spending, the deficit each of the three years since then, under Obama, has been under $1.4 trillion ($1.29, $1.3,
and $1.09 trillion, respectively)
and is projected to be less than $1 trillion in 2013 for the first time since the recession. This shows a budget reduction during Obama's term. The deficits he was running were high but the costs of not running them during a recession, when revenue goes down and spending goes up, are likely to have been catastrophic as both parties seem to agree given the deficit ran in Bush's final budget.
The annual deficits must be addressed, but responsibly so. Obama has set us in the clear direction of bringing down deficits and he will have to continue to do so, but it will take much longer to fix the problem than the next four years regardless of who is elected. As an issue that is one of the most important to our future, he will have to continue this trend in his second term as well as quicken its pace the further away from the recession we get.
By no means would Obama be a consensus pick to win a presidential popularity contest, at the moment, but the president's significant first term achievements could play better in the
history books. Obama's keynote accomplishment coming in healthcare reform does not drum up much enthusiasm with some people today but breaching that milestone after failed efforts from Harry Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt is something he can hang his hat on.
Barack Obama has more highlights to add to his resume including his handling of highly unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama did not start either of them but ended one in Iraq and has been clear that he wants to get out of Afghanistan as soon as possible. If he follows through with the timeline he has outlined, like he did in Iraq, then he will have ended two wars by 2014.
Ultimately if President Obama is re-elected and keeps us on this path he could still be remembered as highly successful. And even that could be an understatement.
Cosby is a sophomore majoring in economics and political science from Overland Park.
Follow him on Twitter @clavcosy.
MOVIES
Disney's Star Wars has potential
Along time ago in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas made history, with the 1977 release of (now named) "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" and paved the way for a number of other blockbusters and franchises that would eventually make him billions of dollars. Lucas is either not satisfied with the royalties and profits made from his creations up until now, or simply tired of the pressure that comes with adding to his masterpieces and has plans to sell his single ownership of Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Corporation for a whopping $4.05 Billion.
Lucas' original trilogy immediately developed a large, dedicated following of die-hard fans that would sooner fall on their own light saber than see anyone make the smallest change to the original trilogy. Therefore, when Lucas commissioned and released the second Star Wars trilogy, comprised of three prequels, the stake, and expectations were understandably sky high. This new trilogy fell far short of the lofty expectations of Lucas' loyal fan base, due in part to the introduction of certain new characters and plot devices.
Ask any die-hard Star Wars nerd which of the over 17,000 characters in the Star Wars universe they would kill off given
the chance and 10 times out of 10 the answer will be Jar Jar Binks. By taking the new trilogy in a new, more lighthearted direction, Lucas was met with a large number of nasty accusations and insults that vilified him as having ruined the integrity of a masterpiece of cinematic brilliance.
It is these vilifying comments that have lead Lucas to sell the rights to his brainchild away to Disney. Lucas and many others believe that Disney has the capability and the personnel to bolster the franchise and create something Star Wars fans can accept and enjoy.
Lucas, not being in charge of every facet of production, will allow for a lot more options once the new trilogy starts filming. Fans might finally see some of their ideas and dreams for the franchise make their way to the big screen as the creative minds at Disney are sure to pull out all the stops to please them.
the franchise is heading in, though. Many fans are still having flashbacks to the Jar Jar Binks catastrophe and are doubtful that anything good will come of this. These are the same fans that condemned Lucas for making Ewoks blink in the 3D re-release of the original trilogy, so it is difficult to take these criticisms seriously.
Not everyone is excited about this new direction that
Personally, I side with the group of fans that are excited to see what direction Disney chooses to take the franchise in. I believe that with Disney at the helm the franchise could very well be moving towards a new trilogy to rival the original in both storytelling and mind-blowing special effects.
So will these new movies turn out to be flops or masterpieces? It is difficult to make any predictions concerning quality at this early stage, but the excitement is already palpable. Once casting choices begin to surface we might have a better idea of just how especially good or bad these new movies will be. But for now all we can do is wait until we are once again transported to a galaxy far, far away.
Sisk is a junior majoring in journalism from Kansas City. Follow him on Twitter @calebsik.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
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Tweet us your opinions, and we just
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Are you doing anything special for the election, or are you hiding from the non-stop talk?
@RealDerekGood
@UDK Opinion my favorite drinking game. Finish your drink every time somebody wins a state. Only get to play every four years sadly.
@UK Opinion We'll be handing out free shirts and sunglasses on Wescoe Beach to people who vote. Wear your #voted sticker.
@KUSenate
Maintain perspective regardless of winner
ELECTION
Today is election day. But more importantly, it's my girlfriend's birthday.
That's right. After all the hours I spent bickering over economic policy in the cafeteria, shushing chatty viewers at my convention/ debate watch parties and subsequently scouring Politifact.com to see which candidate lied more, ignoring my professors as I read every new poll and election update on Politico.com under the guise of "note taking," and losing sleep over writing my quasi-political columns, I'm telling you that this election is not the end of the world. I'm celebrating today. My girlfriend is 18 now and I'm 19 and we're going to vote together – and that's really exciting. But then we're going to go have dinner, complete with cake and presents, and I'm not going to focus on the election. Because some things are just more important.
I am Will's raging hypocrisy.
Ian Winn's aging hypocrisy.
To know me is to argue with me. I've been at the forefront of this election's bipartisan bloodshed since Herman Cain first unveiled his Big Pizza Diplomacy and Rick Perry racked the cavernous depths of his skull to remember exactly what that third thing was. From the moment I laid eyes on the GOP's clown car of candidates, I've been convinced that this election is the prophesied Mayan apocalypse, with the American people holding the fate of my beloved country in their grubby, indecissive hands. Let it be clear, I have absolutely no faith in Gov. Mitt Romney as president. But I have faith in the system and I still have faith in these United States of America.
The U.S. presidency has a term limit for a reason: sometimes, we elect the wrong person. Or sometimes we don't elect them, but they "win" the presidency anyway. Regardless, our system ensures that no one can ruin the country for more than four years at a time without a little citizen intervention. You don't have to support the president; in fact, it is our civic duty to question our government. But with that being said, you shouldn't sabotage him either. Don't waste his time with an outrageous birth certificate controversy. Don't block every budget or piece of legislation he proposes just because he prefers donkeys to elephants, or vice-versa. Don't pray for a negative jobs report and a stock market dip just to make him look bad. Whether Obama or Romney wins, give the president a chance to lead. Then they'll answer to us.
In 2004, my family woke up on the first Wednesday of November with a bad case of election hangover. The reality of a third Bush term had us really worried. Dad would always jokingly threaten (I think?) to leave the country, but I guess we're still here. And you know what? The country fell into a devastating economic collapse and came no nearer to a "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq or Afghanistan. But my parents were always resolute in maintaining our values and way of life. We worked hard. We saved our money. We weren't hurt by the recession. And when Obama took the reins, our situation didn't really change for better or for worse. It didn't matter who was in office; our lives would go on because we wanted them to.
I've got a lot riding on this election, particularly in the health care debate. If Obama wins, I can return to my affordable and convenient blood infusion treatments by 2014. If Romney wins, we may have to set aside another $120,000 in our annual family budget. But no matter the outcome, my parents assure me that I'm taken care of and I know that my beautiful girlfriend will be there to squeeze my hand every time the IVs come out. I will not let this election, or any, run my life. I'm focusing on what's important today.
Webber is a freshman majoring in journalism and political science from Prairie Village. Follow him on Twitter @webbemz.
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@KALENBOBALEN
@UOK_Opignon I always went with my dad to the polls. I'm proud to have him with me tomorrow when I vote for the first time!
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